Consumers more wary about the food they eat

A large number of consumers have trust issues when it comes to food, the latest report from Mintel has revealed.

In its Consumer Trust in Food 2013 study, it found that six months on from the horsemeat scandal, British consumers were still pretty sceptical about the efficiency of the British food industry.

Only just under half (49%) said they trusted the food industry to provide safe food to eat, while 37% were undecided.

Forty-two per cent of Brits believe the food industry is able to effectively react to food scares such as BSE and horsemeat, and only 23% feel that the different elements of the supply chain work effectively together.

According to Mintel, the concerns regarding the trustworthiness of food were strongly related to fact they felt the industry had a lack of awareness of its own supply chains, with 34% stating they felt food manufacturers weren’t aware of where their ingredients originated from.

Alex Beckett, senior food analyst at Mintel, said the food industry had a big job on its hands to regain consumer trust.

“That food should not be harmful should be one of the most basic of consumer expectations, yet only half of adults feel the UK food industry provides food that is safe to eat, signalling a widespread breakdown of trust in the agri-food chain, and suggesting the need for more active communications and greater transparency towards consumers.”

He added that grocers and manufacturers have typically not drawn attention to suppliers of own-brand products, “but providing these details on-pack could help to support consumer trust in the grocers’ sourcing”.

The report also revealed that the top five factors which would encourage consumer trust in food were: British ingredients; manufacturing details on food labelling (where and when made); animal welfare certificate; product origin on the pack; and no artificial ingredients.